Surface morphology and crystalline orientation of uniaxially drawn polytetrafluoroethylene films

For polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films drawn uniaxially at 100, 150, 250, and 350°C, the morphology and degree of crystalline orientation were investigated by electron scanning microscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffraction, respectively. On the surface of the PTFE films which were heat-treated at 350°C for 2 h before the drawing, granules with a diameter of about 2 μm and bands with a width of about 0.3 μm were observed. By the drawing below the melting point, the bands are transformed into fibrils and a porous structure is formed by the drawing above the draw ratio (λ) of about 1.3. By drawing above the melting point, striations appear perpendicularly to the draw direction, and the collapse of the granules is observed. The orientation of the crystallites increases rapidly with increasing the draw ratio and approaches a plateau at λ ≈ 1.5 for the films drawn above the melting point and at λ ≈ 2.0 for that below it.